How NOT to Get Fired by Lord Sugar on The Apprentice

How NOT to Get Fired by Lord Sugar on The Apprentice When contestants enter The Apprentice, they should be prepared to face a grilling of a lifetime from Lord  Sugar. Its all part and parcel of entering the show after all. Known for his brutally honest approach, he doesnt exactly hold back from speaking his thoughts, no matter how harsh and if you fail to live up to his expectations hell fire you quicker than So knowing full well that theyre not going to be given an easy ride, entering the board room after a task can feel much like theyre entering a court room ready for sentencing. Obviously the only certain way to avoid getting fired by Alan Sugar is to not enter the Apprentice, but wheres the fun in that?! If you ever find yourself as a contestant on the show, or in a similar kind of candidate showdown, heres how not get fired! 1) Keep your ego at bay Its a bit of an ongoing trend among Apprentice contestants, that there will be some pretty huge egos among the group! In fact, I think its part of the criteria that producers look for when recruiting people for the show. Although a level of confidence and trust in your own abilities is essential to succeed in such a dog-eat-dog competition, arrogance is not regarded favourably  by Lord Sugar, so reel it in! 2) Listen to your team leader The role of the team leader is to assign each member of the group a role according to their strengths and to coordinate the task so that everything runs smoothly. If someone goes against the team leader or fails to adhere to their assigned role in the group, things are going to go pear shape! As the series goes on, tensions build among contestants and rifts are bound to occur, but for your sake as much of the team be cooperative, or youll be taking a trip to the board room! 3) Speak up If you spot a flaw in the plan for a group task, or have an idea for how it could be improved speak up early so that there is opportunity to take your thoughts on board. Sitting back and waiting for things to fall apart before bringing up is just plain pointless and makes you a bit of an idiot as Lord Sugar would say. Sure, theres the chance that youll get shot down (a pretty high chance actually, seeing as this is  the Apprentice were talking about), but at least youll have the ground to stand on that you made the suggestion. 4) Dont  argue in the board room No one wants to get fired, so theres not surprise that people get on the  defensive when theyre called back into the board room to face their fate. So if another contestant or member of the panel make a comment that rattles your cage, try to keep your cool. Fly off the handle in front of Lord Sugar and hes probably going to send you packing. 5) Use some common sense Lord Sugar has no time for silly mistakes and a lack of common sense. If he thinks that the teams failure is down to an individual behaving in a foolish or daft manner, hell make no hesitation to get rid of them. 6) Be creative A lot of the tasks given to the contestants require them to think outside the box a bit and come up with a product/event that will really stand out in the market and sell. There is no room for boring ideas that have been done time and time again. 7) Sell your product for a profit This might sound a bit like its stating the obvious, seeing as it is the sole purpose of the tasks, but youd be surprised how often contestants fail to do this. If you have zero sales ability, then the Apprentice probably isnt the show for you. 8) Have a good professional manner about you The aim of the Apprentice is for Lord Sugar to find himself a business partner, so if he doesnt feel that you are capable of presenting yourself in a professional manner, then hes going to have some pretty big concerns about going into business with you. This encompasses everything from the way you speak and interact with others in professional situations, to the way you dress. 9) Dont take a back seat If youre not pulling your weight in the team youll just come across as lazy or downright useless. Its important throw yourself in there, so that you can demonstrate your strengths and prove to Lord Sugar that you are worth keeping. 10) Dont annoy Sugar! Youre fired!

3 Tips for Finding the Perfect Mortgage Lender

3 Tips for Finding the Perfect Mortgage Lender It may seem easy on the surface to find a mortgage lender, but the process of getting a loan is complicated to say the least. Not to mention that there will be many potential lenders who really don’t fit your criteria. When searching for a lender, you can take the hard route and go to their individual websites and request further information. Or you can take the easy route and use a site like On Q Financial and fill out only one form to get multiple quotes from various lenders. The decision on which route to opt for is up to you, just as long as you fulfill your goal of finding the best lender that will meet your needs. With that said, we’ll provide some tips to help you find the perfect mortgage lender for your particular situation. Please use these tips to your advantage when you begin applying for mortgages from now on. Tip #1: Figure out Your Complete Financial Picture Before you even begin looking for potential lenders, it’s best to get yourself organized right from the very beginning. There are specific criteria that everyone needs to know before they even consider applying for a mortgage. For starters, you must know how much money you have on hand before applying for the loan. You need to know how much you’ll have available for a down payment on the home you wish to buy. After you’ve determined this number, you’ll then be able to estimate how much money you’ll need to borrow from potential lenders. At this point in time, lenders are typically looking for homebuyers to put down 20% of the total home value, so you must have that much cash available on hand in order to qualify for the loan. Plus you need to have money for other expenses like lawyer fees, moving expenses, first-year property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and anything else that may come up. Based on everything we’ve just shared, do the math to figure out your personal needs and calculate how much you’ll need to borrow for your mortgage. Tip #2: Researching Potential Lenders When you begin the research process, you can contact people you know to see if they can make a solid recommendation. More than likely, you’ll end up finding someone on your own based on information you gather online. If you do not feel like getting tons of emails from multiple lenders, you’re short on time or you want to put your attention on planning what remodeling you’re going to do after you receive the loan, it’s best to use the source we mentioned above and get various quotes from different vendors by only filling in one form. Alternatively, visit the individual websites of lenders you know and choose those you feel are a good fit. Contact your local bank, credit union, or other local banks in your community and see if you’ll qualify for a mortgage. Tip #3: Narrow down Your Choices Now that you’ve discovered possible lenders for your mortgage, it’s time to narrow down your options and choose the best companies to meet your needs. You want to choose the one that will be the best to work with. So consider the following:                Were your emails and phone calls promptly returned?                Was the lender friendly?                Were they patient or did they rush through your phone call?                Did the lender thoroughly answer all of your questions?                Did the lender dig deeper and ask about the particulars of your loan?          And  Did the lender seem honest and forthright? If you can answer a resounding yes to all those questions, then choose that lender. Put in applications to at least three different lenders and you’re bound to qualify for a mortgage from at least one of them.

Personal Branding Weekly and Facebook Marketing You - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Weekly and Facebook Marketing You - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Personal Branding Weekly EDITOR’S NOTE:   I’m catching up this week as much as you are on the great insights of our authors.   I spent the week in intense training and networking at #PubCon.   I had hoped to have a great post to you about all of it this week and found   (which often happens at conferences) to be overloaded with so much great information.   To avoid diluting the richness of everything I learned, I’ll review things one at a time a little bit more in depth and with some examples so that you can take advantage and apply this to your personal brand. This week on the Personal Branding Blog we received great insights from:  Are You Branding Your Competencies, Characteristics, and Intangibles? by Deborah Shane  Do the Opposite of What the Industry Leaders Do by Jun Loayza  Resume Personal Branding Best Practices Part 4 Concise by Phil Rosenberg  Brand Ryan Says 30% are Takers? by Nance Rosen  How to Manage Two Personal Brands by Heather Huhman  Communicate You Are Motivated to Succeed by Elinor Stutz  7 Questions to Ask Before You Start to Write by Roger Parker  Does Facebook Subscribe Help or Hurt Your C-Level Branding? by The Youth Entrepreneur Council  Make Next Steps Question Last Step in Job Interview by Skip Freeman  Personal Branding Lessons from the Real Housewives by Kristen Fischer  5 Strategic Tips for A Successful Job Search by Glassdoor.com  Personal Branding Heroes (i): Jean-Claude Van Damme by Oscar Del Santo  Eight Tips fot Trade Show Success by Jeff Shuey  Writers, Dont Give Up On Social Media by Erik Deckers  Building Your Personal Brand Through Volunteerism by Michael Spinale  Choosing a Career? Identify a Problem You Can Fix! by Beth Kuhel  Make Your Personal Brand Pass the Resume Scan by Rebecca Rapple  How to Look Incredible Even If You Lack Experience by Pete Leibman This next week look forward to:  Getting to the Job Finish Line  Hard Business Lessons that Teach Success  The Key to Making Videos Turn To Clicks  What a Massive Pimple Can Teach You About a Resume  How to Choose A personal Brand  And, the first guest post from ChamberofCommerce.com We will learn a lot this week! Facebook   Marketing Your Personal Brand Facebook ads are a powerful tool that will often trigger word of mouth marketing to work in your advantage. This (using ads) is the most powerful way of promoting anything because they tend to go viral pretty quickly. Having ads on social media are perfect if you want to promote yourself and grow your popularity, visibility and most importantly, a fan base. Sadly, many people find them confusing and thus don’t utilize them much in their marketing strategies. In reality, Facebook ads are not that difficult to understand, especially when you know what they can do for you in relation to what you want to achieve. Promoting your posts If you want to promote your posts so that they are seen by a lot more people than would ordinarily see them, you will have to start by creating a new status update.   Once you have completed compiling your new status update, you will see a ‘promote’ button at the end of the status form. Click this button and it will take you through the process of placing your ad to promote your post. You should be able to see a price against the approximate number of fans it will be promoted to. Decide how much you want to pay to reach the number of people you desire to reach. When you are done, make sure you click ‘save’ and your post will then be promoted over a period of 3 days to the number of fans you have opted to reach. Many folks do not quite understand the difference in reach when you promote a post in this way, as compared to doing it via a unpromoted status update. The big difference is that when you promote through a status on your fan page you will usually reach a fraction of your   likers.   Facebook’s Edge Rank algorithm determines that only about 16% of your likes “see” your update.  However, when you promote through a paid ad on Facebook, you will be able to reach more of your existing fans, plus friends of those who are linked to your post will also be much more likely to see your ad. Just to give you an idea of how Facebook charges for these ads, to reach about 1,000 people will cost $5, approximately 3,700 people will cost $20, and 14,000+ fans will cost you $75. Over the next few weeks, and in greater detail on my blog, I’ll cover how you can harness the power of this to help increase your visbility, credibility and connectability. Author: Maria Elena Duron, is managing editor of the Personal Branding Blog, CEO (chief engagement officer) of  buzz2bucks.com  â€"  a word of mouth marketing firm. She helps create conversation, connection, credibility, community and commerce around your brand. Maria Duron is co-founder   and moderator of  #brandchat   a weekly Twitter chat focused on every aspect of branding that is recognized by Mashable as one the 15 Essential Twitter Chats for Social Media Marketers.

Seeking a Social Media Internship This Summer

Seeking a Social Media Internship This Summer I received this info last week from InternMatch, an online platform connecting the best intern candidates and employers  and wanted to share it with those of you looking for a Social Media Internship this summer. If you have additional questions or concerns about being a social media intern (ex: you dont have a marketing major but want to do this um me neither!), feel free to leave me a comment.  I happen to manage SM interns here in Chicago! InternMatch has decided to Kill The Cover Letter in a campaign where companies have students apply for social media internships using creative online applications rather than traditional cover letters. On Wed., May 1, internship opportunities from 50 companies will be available on InternMatch. You can apply using Twitter, and showcase your creative side by creating a tweet to explain why you are the best candidate, sharing a picture that best reflects you, or sharing a link to your online resume.   InternMatch will host a two-part Google+ panel  this Wednesday, May 1st, for students and employers from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. PST to help both sides learn about the future of the social media industry and how students can succeed in the field. The panel will include some of the country’s leading digital marketing experts, including: Nando Rodriguez, Senior Social Media Recruiter for North America and Charlene Narcelles, Talent Acquisition Manager for North America at Olgivy and Mather, a Social media agency, and co-founders of InterviewingU Amanda Pirtle, Director of University Relations and Emily Cloud, Marketing Associate at Nestlé Purina Will Houghteling, Education and Community Partnerships Lead at Google+ Thomas Knoll, CEO of ClippPR, former Community Architect at Zappos If you’re looking for a unique opportunity to land an outstanding social media internship, this is your chance! For more info or details, contact:  Ashley Mosley and  InternMatch on Facebook  and  Twitter.

Tips For Writing Down An Objective In A Resume

Tips For Writing Down An Objective In A ResumeHaving 'Tips for writing down an objective in a resume' will help you as you are applying for a job. It will increase your chances of getting the job. It is also important to get the job if you don't have any.Your objective in your resume should be a short paragraph describing why you want the job. It should be written in such a way that it is easy to read. To improve your chances of success, always use clear and concise language. You should write the objective in a language that readers will understand.Use bullet points to provide more basic information. Instead of saying 'please list all qualifications in order of importance,' you could instead say 'please list all pertinent qualifications in order of importance.' Just use your head. It will make your resume easier to read.Have your objective in the first paragraph. This will help the reader know what the purpose of your resume is. Be sure to follow this rule even if you are not applyin g for a job that has a specific objective. You don't want to become overworked trying to figure out what it is. Remember, your objective in a resume should be easy to read and understand.Provide a summary of your career objective in the second paragraph. Always be brief when summarizing your job objective. If you want the reader to read your summary, give them what they really want. Say it. 'Please read my summary statement to gain a clear understanding of the purpose of my job application.'Use strong words to describe your career objective. Always use technical or professional words like'career'interests.' These will help make your summary statement more powerful.Writing in chronological order helps readers who are reviewing your resume. In the first paragraph, describe your career objective in detail and in the second paragraph to summarize it. This keeps your objective organized. Also, it helps make it easier to read.Follow these tips for writing down an objective in a resume. Yo ur objective will help you and the hiring manager decide whether you are right for the job.

Summary Sunday Whole Lotta Job Search Stuff

Summary Sunday Whole Lotta Job Search Stuff Every Sunday I review my tweets to rally together some of the most important or favorites shared. It is not only a week-in-review for me, but if you arent on Twitter, it is my chance to inform and educate you on what you are missing! (You know how much I love Twitter!) For a visually-appealing summary, check out my page on RebelMouse. The topics span the spectrum this week! Theres professional development, social media and job search trends. I hope you enjoy! Professional Development Always Have Conversational Currency! How do you stay up on current events? Watching the news is one way, however, it is always slightly skewed based on the station providing the information. I have always LOVED The Week! It provides insight on the multiple sides of stories and news! And lucky for you, theyve got a fabulous summary called 10 Things You Need to Know Today Developing Your Charisma Inc. provided a list of 10 Habits of Remarkably Charismatic People They listen way more than they talk. They dont practice selective hearing. They put their stuff away. They give before they receiveand often they never receive. Please go read the full list and details on Inc.com! Times   Awastin I know I struggle with time management. Staying on track, focused and disciplined is difficult. Heres an obvious, but helpful post by S. Anthony Iannarino. The Key to Time Management: Stop Wasting It The Scoop On Social Media Top Picks By Mari Smith Every week Mari Smith sends out top articles on Social Media. She knows her stuff and I highly recommend you subscribe to her free news letter so you can become more familiar with what is going on here. It is NOT a fad. It is going to impact all our lives very soon. It will become a part of every job eventually. Top Social Media Tips of the Week September 14, 2012 Stop Avoiding the Inevitable Heather Huhmans post on Glassdoor tells you why it is important to have an online profile. Please, go check it out! 5 Reasons Your Online Profile Is More Important than Your Resume Interviewing Trends Tips See Interviews Through the Eyes of the Employer Please gain a better understanding and appreciation for what the employer has to go through in order to hire someone. It isnt as easy as it seems. In Jacqui Barrett-Poindexters post on On Careers, she lists the issues and supplies three tips to help you stand out from the crowd! Why Todays Interview Process is So Difficult Lights, Camera, Action Are you ready for your video interview? Really! 63% of human resources managers interviewed said their company often conducts employment interviews via video according to an Office Team study. The following post has seven tips to help you prepare! More Employers Are Doing Video Interviews from CollegeRecruiter.com

Live an Authentic Life to reach Your Goals - Jane Jackson Career

Live an Authentic Life to reach Your Goals - Jane Jackson Career Live an Authentic Life to reach Your GoalsI love reading motivational speeches by people who have overcome difficulties in order to become who they WANT to be.   Success stories always inspire me.   While doing some research on the Internet recently I came across a copy of the Stanford University commencement speech given by Steve Jobs, founder and CEO of Apple Computer.    His speech was all about loving what you do.   With all of his amazing accomplishments to date, for him to talk about enjoying his vocation was not surprising to me.   What was interesting was that he said he looks in the mirror every morning and says this affirmation to himself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do?”Have you ever asked yourself this?   Would you be doing something different if you asked this of yourself this morning?   Is what you are about to do, or is what you are doing right now getting you to where you WANT to be?Steve Jobs also said, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart, and intuition.”   What a powerful message!      Are you living an authentic life?   Do you find your life meaningful and satisfying?I find my family life meaningful and satisfying.   My husband, my daughters, my brother and his family provide me with the opportunity to give and receive love, support and encouragement.   Looking after my health is also of utmost importance.    Being of service to others, giving back to the community is a top priority too.   By satisfying these three of my top personal values, health, family happiness and service to others, I am on my way to living an authentic life.    Achievement is something I also value highly.   What about the satisfaction and meaning I gain from achieving my personal and professional goals?   Having a goal to work towards gives my life great meaning.     What about you?I someti mes find keeping on track a little challenging as daily life, others’ priorities and needs can take over and then I detour from achieving my goal within the timeframe I set myself.   Here’s what I do to keep myself on track and perhaps it will be helpful to you too:Define What You WantBe specific about what you want and when you want it by.   Do your research, get the facts, and be realistic with your expectations.Why Do You Want It?What are the benefits of achieving your goal?   Focus on the benefits, not just the goal itself.Make Your Goal VisibleWhen you have identified what you want and you know that with effort it is achievable, tell everyone about it!   Write it down, draw a picture of the successful outcome.   Put this visual or this success statement where you will see it every day.   This will keep you focused and help prevent you from giving up when things get a little tough.Organise and PlanDon’t sit back and hope it will happen.   Think about HOW you are going to a chieve your goal.   What will you have to do?   What are the sacrifices that may need to be made?   You may not like it but if you can see the benefits it will be easier to take.Record Your ProgressMake a list of your milestones and tick them off when you reach each one.   Celebrate the success of each step.   Tell everyone!  DO It!At the end of each day ask yourself, “What did I do today to get me closer to my goal?”Celebrate!When you have reached your goal, tell those who support you and celebrate!   How did you do it?   What was easy?   What was difficult?   What could have been even more effective?   Pat yourself on the back and then … set your next goal!With your goal in mind, and reflecting back to the affirmation Steve Jobs asks himself, look yourself in the mirror in the morning and ask, “Do I want to do what I am about to do today?”   Make everything you do meaningful for an authentic … and satisfying … life. Live an Authentic Life to reach Your Goals - Jane Jackson Career Live an Authentic Life to reach Your GoalsI love reading motivational speeches by people who have overcome difficulties in order to become who they WANT to be.   Success stories always inspire me.   While doing some research on the Internet recently I came across a copy of the Stanford University commencement speech given by Steve Jobs, founder and CEO of Apple Computer.    His speech was all about loving what you do.   With all of his amazing accomplishments to date, for him to talk about enjoying his vocation was not surprising to me.   What was interesting was that he said he looks in the mirror every morning and says this affirmation to himself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do?”Have you ever asked yourself this?   Would you be doing something different if you asked this of yourself this morning?   Is what you are about to do, or is what you are doing right now getting you to where you WANT to be?Steve Jobs also said, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart, and intuition.”   What a powerful message!      Are you living an authentic life?   Do you find your life meaningful and satisfying?I find my family life meaningful and satisfying.   My husband, my daughters, my brother and his family provide me with the opportunity to give and receive love, support and encouragement.   Looking after my health is also of utmost importance.    Being of service to others, giving back to the community is a top priority too.   By satisfying these three of my top personal values, health, family happiness and service to others, I am on my way to living an authentic life.    Achievement is something I also value highly.   What about the satisfaction and meaning I gain from achieving my personal and professional goals?   Having a goal to work towards gives my life great meaning.     What about you?I someti mes find keeping on track a little challenging as daily life, others’ priorities and needs can take over and then I detour from achieving my goal within the timeframe I set myself.   Here’s what I do to keep myself on track and perhaps it will be helpful to you too:Define What You WantBe specific about what you want and when you want it by.   Do your research, get the facts, and be realistic with your expectations.Why Do You Want It?What are the benefits of achieving your goal?   Focus on the benefits, not just the goal itself.Make Your Goal VisibleWhen you have identified what you want and you know that with effort it is achievable, tell everyone about it!   Write it down, draw a picture of the successful outcome.   Put this visual or this success statement where you will see it every day.   This will keep you focused and help prevent you from giving up when things get a little tough.Organise and PlanDon’t sit back and hope it will happen.   Think about HOW you are going to a chieve your goal.   What will you have to do?   What are the sacrifices that may need to be made?   You may not like it but if you can see the benefits it will be easier to take.Record Your ProgressMake a list of your milestones and tick them off when you reach each one.   Celebrate the success of each step.   Tell everyone!  DO It!At the end of each day ask yourself, “What did I do today to get me closer to my goal?”Celebrate!When you have reached your goal, tell those who support you and celebrate!   How did you do it?   What was easy?   What was difficult?   What could have been even more effective?   Pat yourself on the back and then … set your next goal!With your goal in mind, and reflecting back to the affirmation Steve Jobs asks himself, look yourself in the mirror in the morning and ask, “Do I want to do what I am about to do today?”   Make everything you do meaningful for an authentic … and satisfying … life.Would you benefit from being coached?   Check out my LinkedIn profile and see what others have gained from coaching:       No matter where you are we can work together through telephone coaching.    Be empowered to achieve your dreams!